Plasma metabolic characterisation of dairy cows with inactive ovaries and oestrus during the peak of lactation
Published Online: Sep 13, 2019
Page range: 359 - 367
Received: Feb 01, 2019
Accepted: Jul 16, 2019
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jvetres-2019-0047
Keywords
© 2019 Y.X. Song et al. published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.
Introduction
Differential metabolites (DMs) between cows with inactive ovaries (IO) and oestrous (E) cows were screened and metabolic pathways of DMs associated with IO were determined.
Material and Methods
Cows at 50 to 60 days (d) postpartum from an intensive dairy farm were randomly selected and allocated into an E group (n = 16) or an IO group (n = 16) according to a pedometer and rectal examinations. Their plasma samples were analysed by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) to compare plasma metabolic changes between the E and IO groups. Multivariate pattern recognition was used to screen the DMs in the plasma of IO cows.
Results
Compared with normal E cows, there were abnormalities in 20 metabolites in IO cows, including a significantly decreased content (VIP > 1, P < 0.05) of cholic acid, p-chlorophenylalanine, and arachidonic acid, and a significantly increased content (VIP > 1, P < 0.05) of tyramine, betaine, L-phenylalanine, L-glutamate, D-proline, L-alanine, and L-pyrophosphate. Five DMs (cholic acid, D-proline, L-glutamate, L-alanine, and L-pyroglutamic acid) with higher variable importance in projection (VIP) values between groups were validated by ELISA with blind samples of re-selected cows (IO, 50 to 60 d postpartum) and the validated results were consistent with the LC–MS results.
Conclusion
The 20 DMs in IO cows during the peak of lactation indicated that the pathogenesis of IO was involved in complex metabolic networks and signal transduction pathways. This study provides a basis for further exploration of the pathogenesis and prevention of IO in cows in the future.